There is an old saying that goes, “When it rains, it pours.” A Chicago high school is now learning a new meaning to that saying. The principal of Paul Robeson High School discovered one out of every eight of his female students is pregnant.
Nowadays, it isn’t unusual to find a few pregnant girls in a school, however this is certainly a high number. Principal Gerald Morrow told CBS2 in an interview that he is aware of 115 young ladies, out of 800 female students, who are currently expecting or have recently given birth.
Perhaps the first question that comes to mind is the topic of sexual education. You’re probably assuming the school doesn’t teach it. Otherwise, it would be working, right? Wrong. Reporter Kristyn Hartman from CBS2Chicago.com says that the school has had “prevention talks” with the students. So what can we blame this high number on? Is sex education not working in our public school systems?
Principal Morrow is blaming the problem on a lot of issues; one of them being “a lack of leadership and a lack of fathers” at home. Another issue brought up is the fact that parents aren’t educating their kids.
CBS2Chicago.com reports, “LaDonna Denson and two other Robeson students say parents not talking to teens and, in some cases, the pursuit of public assistance also factor into the pregnancies. None of them thought they'd be moms at such a young age. They said they have support at home. But not all girls do, they said. In fact, some girls get thrown out of the home. “
As I read this article, it occurred to me: If these kids aren’t being taught about successful families or dealing with pregnancy, I wonder what they are being taught about abortion? Obviously, these kids need some help. Some have been kicked out and, with the growing number of pregnancies, they are walking through life blindly.
Luckily, the principal isn’t backing out of helping or condemning the students. "We're not looking at them like 'Ooh you made a mistake,'" he said. "We're looking at how we can get them to the next phase, how can we still get them thinking about graduation?"
Hopefully, the only options the school and other people reaching into their lives have are life-affirming ones. One student put it best: “Just because you have a baby, that doesn't mean your life is over."
Some people might just be born for their tasks at hand. CBS2 reports that the principal was born when his mother was only 15. We can see why walking these kids through this time in their lives is so important to him.
When Fox News covered this story, they mentioned an interesting statistic: “The birth rate for teens ages 15 to 19 increased five percent from 2005 to 2007, according to a March 18 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.”
This story continues to prove that students, more then ever, continue to need education and awareness on the issue of life-affirming choices. If you have ever thought everyone must know it all by now, that’s probably just because we’ve surrounded ourselves in a “pro-life world bubble.” What’s happening at this school shows our voices still need to be heard, and a better alternative to Public School Sex Education needs to happen.